))
Imaginary Worlds sounds like what would happen if NPR went to ComicCon and decided that’s all they ever wanted to cover. Host Eric Molinsky spent over a decade working as a public radio reporter and producer, and he uses those skills to create thoughtful, sound-rich episodes about science fiction, fantasy, and other genres of speculative fiction. Every other week, he talks with comic book artists, game designers, novelists, screenwriters, filmmakers, and fans about how they craft their world ...
…
continue reading
A miscellany of stories, presented by Ross Sutherland.
…
continue reading
1
Living Unconventionally
Chris Pyak with top travel bloggers, digital nomads, world travelers, expat
Chris Pyak interviews courageous people that have been able to ditch their traditional lives and desk jobs to chase their passions all over the world. The topics covered include travel stories, the best ways to find travel deals, how living in an unconventional way has improved their lives, how they fund their travels, how to make money on the road, and advice for those wanting to ditch their desk as well. 956258
…
continue reading
1
Fantasy and Fascism Part II: When Democracy Fails
41:58
41:58
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
41:58
In the years since my 2020 episode Fantasy and Fascism, I knew that I had to make a follow-up episode. The political landscape was changing in ways I didn’t expect while major sci-fi fantasy franchises were reflecting those anxieties. Last time, I focused on how SFF worlds depicted fascism. This time, I wanted to look at the other half of the equat…
…
continue reading
Fiction miniseries. Part 4 of 5. Mike's trip reaches its third and final phase.Content Warning: references to domestic violence, drug useWritten and produced by Ross SutherlandAdditional music by Jeremy Warmsley (www.jeremywarmsley.com)Additional music by Jeremy WarmsleyContains samples from Hauntology by Meavy Boy and When the World Goes Quiet pt.…
…
continue reading
Who really composed the scores of Dune, Interstellar, Blade Runner 2049, The Dark Knight, Man of Steel, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lion King? Were they all written by Hans Zimmer? Or were those scores put together by a team of musicians at Hans Zimmer’s studio Remote Control? The podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz went behind-the-scenes and got a …
…
continue reading
The hottest trend in fantasy novels – in fact the hottest trend in publishing overall – is fantasy romance or romantasy. These stories take place in worlds with dragons, faeries, vampires and werewolves but the driving plot is romance with a guaranteed happy ending. For many fans of traditional fantasy novels, the fact that romantasy exists may be …
…
continue reading
1
103 Third Phase [iii. Escalating Oh F**k Scenario]
49:29
49:29
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
49:29
Audio drama miniseries. A man on drugs attempts to purchase a pig. Part 3 of 5.Content warning: drug use, domestic abuse, missing parent, random violence, cannibalismStory written and produced by Ross SutherlandContains samples from Hauntology by Meavy Boy (Free Music Archive) and When the World Goes Quiet pt.VI byRydox (Archive.org)Featuring addit…
…
continue reading
Book banning is hitting libraries across America, and many of the titles being banned or challenged are fantasy books or graphic novels – especially LGBTQ content. Malinda Lo has been tracking how her work is being targeted, like her novel Ash which is a queer reimagining of Cinderella. I talk with Malinda about how she’s been tracking the attacks …
…
continue reading
Did you know that in retirement, George Lucas decided to host a live talk show with his sidekick Watto? That’s the conceit of The George Lucas Talk Show starring Connor Ratliff (from the podcast Dead Eyes) as Lucas, and Griffin Newman (from The Tick) playing the alien character Watto. They’ve had famous guests on the show, including people who know…
…
continue reading
Part 2 of a new fiction miniseries, in which a man on drugs attempts to purchase a pig.Content warning: drug use, random violence, cannibalismStory written and produced by Ross SutherlandContains samples from Hauntology by Meavy Boy (Free Music Archive) and When the World Goes Quiet pt.VI byRydox (Archive.org)Featuring additional music by Jeremy Wa…
…
continue reading
Over the past 40 years, Shigeru Miyamoto has been inventing the modern video game one pixel at a time. From Donkey Kong to Super Mario Bros to The Legend of Zelda, Miyamoto turned wonder and exploration into game mechanics, and incorporated his personal experiences into his games. I talk with Illinois Institute of Technology dean Jennifer deWinter …
…
continue reading
When Joe Dever died in 2016, he hadn’t written the last several books in his Lone Wolf series. The Lone Wolf books take place in a deeply rich fantasy universe, and they’re written as a combination of choose-your-own-adventure stories and role playing games like D&D. Joe’s final wish was that his son Ben would finish the series for him. However, Be…
…
continue reading
The start of a new fiction miniseries, in which a man on drugs attempts to purchase a pig.Content warning: graphic death, ref to domestic violence, drug useStory written and produced by Ross SutherlandContains samples from Hauntology by Meavy Boy (Free Music Archive) and When the World Goes Quiet pt.VI byRydox (Archive.org)Featuring additional musi…
…
continue reading
When the writer Nnedi Okorafor coined the term Africanfuturism, she wanted to distinguish sci-fi written about Africa from Afrofuturism, which is focuses on the experiences of Black people in the diaspora. Africanfuturism mixes the traditional with the futuristic in a way that resembles modern life in Africa, and many of these stories grapple with …
…
continue reading
Back in 2018, I interviewed language creator David J. Peterson about how he invented Dothraki for Game of Thrones and other fictional languages in fantasy worlds. David and his wife Jessie just finished a huge project – developing the Fremen language for Dune: Part Two. I talk with the couple about their creative process and the challenge of imagin…
…
continue reading
1
Bonus: YOUR AGONY AUNT FOR A PHANTOM PAIN
1:04:19
1:04:19
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:04:19
Bonus episode! Accompanying the 100th episode extravaganza, Imaginary Advice looks back over some highlights from the last 10 years. Support the pod: www.patreon.com/rossgsutherlandOr, for a one-off donation go to: www.buymeacoffee.com/imaginaryadviceSelected clips: 37 Dear Chris (podcast title)1 Crying at the back of an Ed Byrne Show (wardrobe)23 …
…
continue reading
The Wizard of Oz is deeply ingrained into our culture. While many people can practically recite the 1939 movie, the original source material isn’t as well known. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum was published in 1900. There are a lot of theories as to what inspired Baum – but the answer may be who rather than what. Baum’s mother-in-law M…
…
continue reading
1
100th Episode (feat. Avery Trufelman, Eric Molinsky, Helen Zaltzman, Joe Dunthorne & Joseph Fink)
1:16:02
1:16:02
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:16:02
Imaginary Advice celebrates its 100th episode with special guests Eric Molinsky, Avery Trufelman, Joe Dunthorne, Helen Zaltzman and Joseph Fink.Consider supporting the show: www.patreon.com/rossgsutherlandOr, to make a one-off donation: www.buymeacoffee.com/imaginaryadviceBy Imaginary Advice
…
continue reading
In the previous episode, I interviewed documentary filmmaker Isaac Elliot-Fisher about He-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Isaac had so many great anecdotes about the history of those franchises that I couldn’t fit in. In this bonus episode of outtakes, Isaac explains the history of the term toyetic, the haphazard way He-Man came together, and…
…
continue reading
1
Class of '84: Turtles, Transformers and Toys Takeover TV
40:56
40:56
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:56
In the final episode of our mini-series Class of '84, we look at two iconic franchises that launched in 1984: Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They came from opposite ends of the business spectrum. Transformers was a top-down marketing synergy between American and Japanese toy companies along with Marvel Comics to compete against He-M…
…
continue reading
In the second episode of our mini-series on groundbreaking works from 1984, we jack into the system and upload our minds into Neuromancer. William Gibson’s novel became a seminal work of cyberpunk, where he introduced words like “cyberspace” and storylines that would become tropes of the genre. Sci-fi writer Eileen Gunn, and professors Sherryl Vint…
…
continue reading
